Battle of Alalia

The naval battle of Alalia found in the period 540-535 BC on the east coast of Corsica instead. A fleet of 120 ships of the Carthaginians and Etruscans could force about 60 Pentekonteren the Greek colonies of Massalia and Alalia to flee. After the defeat of the Greeks Alalia went into the possession of the Etruscans, Sardinia came under Carthaginian influence.

Background

The Greeks started since about 750 BC, with the colonization of the western Mediterranean. Founded by you colonies were mostly created an economic point of settlements that did not form a sovereign, unitary state, but independent city-states represented. However, their partially aggressive settlement policy and their cultural influence on the surrounding area of their newly founded cities also led to conflicts with the local population. Piracy on the trade routes between cities and occasional raids of the local Etruscan also threatened the economic development of the branches.

In addition, the Greek settlements were in increasing competition with the expanding Carthaginian cities in the western Mediterranean. The conflicts between Carthaginian and Greek settlements in Sicily led to the first military -run conflicts. The city foundations of Massilia and Alalia by Greek settlers from Phocaea set for the Carthaginians interfering in their sphere of influence dar. To meet the increasing piracy by the Greeks and to support the Etruscan conquest in Italy, presented the likely allied Carthaginian and Etruscan fleets to expel the Greeks from the area of the Ligurian sea and the Tyrrhenian sea.

The Battle

Herodotus reported that about 60 Pentekonteren the Greeks with a surprise maneuver attempted to beat the more than twice as large fleet of the allies. In this maneuver was obviously a large part of the Greek ships lost or damaged, although the fleets of the Phoenicians and Etruscans suffered heavy losses and retreated. In the face of another attack, which would probably have taken the loss of the entire fleet and the loss of the colonies themselves, the Greeks evacuated Corsica with the remaining ships and fled, among other things according to Rhegium.

Follow

Corsica was added to the Etruscans, after the victory of the allies, Sardinia went to Carthage. The Carthaginians lost, however, in consequence of two naval battles against Massalia. Even attempts by the Etruscans to conquer the Greek cities in southern Italy, failed. Representing this is the Etruscan defeat at the Battle of Kyme 474 BC succeeded to the Carthaginians by the blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar to limit the other Greek colonization of the Iberian Peninsula, but the clashes between Carthaginian and Greek cities led finally to Sicily to the Greek - Punic wars.

Source

• Herodotus - The historical works of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, translated by Theodore Brown, Insel Verlag, Frankfurt 2001, ISBN 3-458-34443-8